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   Chat Control: Can the EU Parliament save our encrypted chats?   
      
   Date:   
   Fri, 19 Sep 2025 17:00:00 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   As the so-called Chat Control has never been closer to become law, the EU   
   Parliament seems to be the only chance left to save encryption in Europe.    
   But, will the new squad live up to that promise?   
      
   FULL STORY   
   ======================================================================   
      
   After over three years in the making, the fate of encrypted chats in Europe    
   is anything but settled.    
      
   On September 12, 2025, EU members had to share their final position on the   
   latest iteration of the Child Sexual Abuse Regulation (CSAR) proposal. Yet   
   again, the bill failed to attract the needed support.    
      
   The Danish version of what critics have deemed Chat Control would require all   
   messaging service providers operating in Europe to scan users' chats  even if   
   they're encrypted  in a bid to detect and halt the spread of child sexual   
   abuse material (CSAM).    
      
   These new obligations  and the risks they can lead to for people's privacy    
   and security  not only have attracted strong criticism from digital rights   
   experts and technologists, but they also keep dividing the political ranks.    
      
   However, despite the proposal not receiving full support, the Denmark is    
   still moving forward. Another meeting is set for October 14 with the Justice   
   and Home Affairs Council.    
      
   If successful, the CSAR bill will finally land in the European Parliament to   
   be discussed as part of the trialogue negotiations, alongside the EU Council   
   and Commission. This brings us to the question  will the Parliament save our   
   encrypted chats?   
      
   The EU Parliament  "our only chance to save encryption"   
      
   "If the Danes do get it through in October, our only chance is that the   
   Parliament defends encryption in the trilogue negotiations," Director of   
   Government Affairs and Advocacy at the Internet Society, Callum Voge, told   
   TechRadar.    
      
   The good news is that the EU Parliament is against mass scanning  on paper,    
   at least. In November 2023 , the vast majority of MEPs from both sides of the   
   political spectrum already agreed on safeguards to ensure that mass scanning   
   and general monitoring do not occur.    
      
   Then, in February 2024, the European Court of Human Rights made it illegal to   
   break encryption . That's the technical infrastructure that the likes of   
   Signal, WhatsApp, ProtonMail, and the best VPN services use to scramble our   
   online communications to prevent unauthorized access.    
      
   These actions combined then pushed the EU to adopt a two-year extension of    
   the interim regulation on voluntary chat scanning, waiting for the EU Council   
   to strike the right compromise on Chat Control. Did you know? (Image credit:   
   Getty Images) Despite not directly impacting the virtual private network    
   (VPN) service, VPN providers have so far been very critical of Chat Control,   
   too. While NymVPN 's CEO deemed it " a major step backwards for privacy ,"   
   the VPN Trust Initiative (VTI)  a consortium that includes the likes of   
   NordVPN , ExpressVPN , and other big names  has also stepped forward in   
   defense of strong encryption. You can read the VTI position paper (at the   
   link below).   
      
   Fast-forward to July 2025, and the Danish version came as the latest attempt   
   to find an agreement.    
      
   Crucially, the mandatory scanning is expected to occur directly on the device   
   before messages are encrypted, targeting shared URLs, pictures, and videos.   
   Only governments and military accounts are excluded from the scope of the   
   bill.    
      
   Experts, however, still believe such a client-side scanning system seriously   
   endangers encryption protections. A risk that pushed over 500 cryptography   
   scientists to sign a letter to warn against agreeing to the proposal in its   
   current form.    
      
   Hence, as the Chat Control has never been closer to becoming law, the EU   
   Parliament's role is set to be crucial.    
      
   There's just one problem now  following last year's European elections, the   
   formation of the EU parliament has been completely reshuffled. And that's   
   something that makes digital rights groups like the Internet Society worried.    
      
   "As the new Parliament is more on the right now, my concern is how strong    
   they will hold their position," said Voge.    
      
   It's also fair to think that after over three years, the Parliament is eager   
   to close the Chat Control matter  once and for all.    
      
   Back in August, the Parliament promised an extension of the interim    
   regulation only if an agreement is reached in the Council. A move that former   
   MEP for the German Pirate Party and digital rights jurist, Patrick Breyer,   
   deemed a " political blackmail ."   
      
   What's next for our private chats?    
      
    As per the latest data , 14 EU members support the proposal (including   
   crucial countries like France, Italy, and Spain), nine are against, and four   
   are still undecided.    
      
   Most notably, while Germany joined the opposition on the eve of the crucial   
   September 12 meeting, the country has now reverted to the undecided list.   
   Germany is thought to be the deciding factor, making Chat Control's critics   
   worried.    
      
   The previous government was indeed very pro-encryption  seeking to make   
   encryption a legal right at home, while strongly opposing mandatory scanning   
   in the block. Yet, the new administration has been "giving very mixed   
   messages," Voge explains.    
      
   Voge is nonetheless pretty positive about the opposition holding through the   
   October meeting, with the Danes failing to get their proposal through. That   
   said, he recognizes the pressure on the Council to find an agreement as   
   "concerning."    
      
   He told TechRadar: "The only risk here is for the negotiations to be    
   political rather than technical. If that occurs, there is a risk of countries   
   changing their position in exchange for support on some other file. That's    
   why public pressure on this will be so vital, especially with the EU   
   Parliament remaining our best chance."   
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/chat-control-can-the-eu-par   
   liament-save-our-encrypted-chats   
      
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